HitCounters Analytics
HitCounters is a simple, real-time alternative to Google Analytics 4 for WordPress site owners who want useful visitor logs without the GA4 learning curve. This plugin connects your WordPress site to the HitCounters service with one tracking code.
After saving your tracking code, you get:
- Real-time visitor list — see live visits with location, referrer, browser, and pages viewed (not just numbers)
- Engagement scoring — visitors who viewed 2+ pages vs bounced, with average time and scroll depth
- AI traffic detection — ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, Gemini, and Microsoft Copilot surfaced as their own traffic source
- Bot filtering — quality scores 0-100 per visit so you can filter junk traffic
- URL goals and custom events — track conversions without writing event code (URL goals work automatically; events via
hcEvent()JS API) - Email digest reports — weekly or monthly traffic summaries to your inbox
- Traffic-spike and bot-spike alerts — opt-in per site
- No third-party cookies — tracker uses scoped first-party
localStorage; no cookie banner required for analytics use
The plugin itself is lightweight: it just adds an async <script> tag to your site’s <head> (or footer if you prefer). The actual tracker is under 25 KB and loads asynchronously, so it has no measurable impact on page speed.
A free HitCounters account is required to get a tracking code. The free tier covers unlimited page views and stores your most recent 500 sessions per site — suitable for personal sites and small blogs indefinitely.
External Services
This plugin connects your site to HitCounters.com (operated by HitCounters) to record visitor analytics. Per WordPress.org guidelines, here’s exactly what is sent, when, and to whom.
Service: HitCounters.com
Provider: HitCounters — https://hitcounters.com
Provider Terms / Privacy:
Terms of Service · Privacy Policy
What this plugin sends, when:
- When: On every page load on the front end of your site (not in the WP admin).
- Endpoint:
https://hitcounters.com/api/tracker.js(loaded as an external script) - Endpoint:
https://hitcounters.com/api/track.phpand/api/beacon.php(called by the loaded script when a visitor browses, scrolls, or leaves a page) - Data: Your tracking code (so HitCounters knows which site the visit is for); the visitor’s page URL, page title, referrer URL, browser user-agent, screen and viewport size, country/region/city (geo-resolved from IP), time spent on page, scroll depth, and any UTM parameters present in the URL.
- NOT sent: No personally identifiable information (no names, emails, form contents, or post bodies). No cookies are set on visitors’ browsers by the tracker.
Why this plugin sends it:
To populate the visitor analytics dashboard at your HitCounters account, which only you (and any team members you invite) can see.
Required for the plugin to work: Yes. The plugin’s sole purpose is to load this script, so disabling the request would defeat the plugin entirely. If you don’t want this, simply deactivate the plugin.
Account requirement: Yes — a free HitCounters account is required to obtain a tracking code. Sign up at hitcounters.com/register.php.
Privacy Policy
This plugin does not collect any data on its own. The script it loads is owned and operated by HitCounters. For full details on what HitCounters collects, how it is stored, and your visitors’ rights, see https://hitcounters.com/privacy.php.
Details
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